Rafael Nadal won’t be returning to the court today for his Bastad doubles match with Casper Ruud after the 38-year-old decided to withdraw from the doubles event, citing fitness concerns after back-to-back very demanding and exhausting singles matches.
A day after edging out Mariano Navone in a three-set thriller that lasted nearly four hours, Nadal endured another grueling match today after coming back from a set down to beat Duje Ajdukovic 4-6 6-3 6-4 in over two hours of play for a Bastad final spot.
After Nadal spent over six hours on the court over the last two days, the general belief and expectation was that he would probably skip his and Ruud’s doubles semifinal match versus Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos. And exactly that happened as the 38-year-old Spaniard wants to try to recover for tomorrow’s final against either Nuno Borges or Thiago Agustin Tirante.
Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal© Getty Images Sport – Clive Mason
Before the withdrawal, Nadal and Ruud beat Guido Andreozzi and Miguel Reyes-Varela in their first match as a doubles duo before saving a match point in a quarterfinal 6-4 3-6 12-10 win over Theo Arribage and Roman Safiullin.
BREAKING: Rafael Nadal has confirmed in press he has withdrawn from the doubles with Casper Ruud. He would have loved to play but he has played 6 hours and can’t risk the final and his body for tomorrow. #NordeaOpen
— Tennis Weekly Podcast (@tennisweeklypod) July 20, 2024
Nadal set for his first final in over two years
When Nadal returns to the court on Sunday, he will be playing his first singles final since the 2022 French Open.
“Always it is a great feeling to be back in a final. I have won four matches in a row, something I was not able to make happen since two years ago. A lot of things happened, but still in this process of recovering, a lot of things I lost, because I had a very important hip surgery almost one year ago,” Nadal said after beating Ajdukovic.
“So things were not going that easy, but I am fighting. I am fighting during the whole tournament to be where I am today, and I think matches like yesterday’s, like today’s, help to improve a lot of things on court. I am happy with that, and let’s see if I am able to play a little bit better tomorrow.”
For Nadal, this has already been a massive week and a great preparation for the Paris Olympics.